


Turning Page

by also_bughead



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Prison, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Strangers to Lovers, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 05:25:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14206032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/also_bughead/pseuds/also_bughead
Summary: Jughead Jones served his time, and he was trying to get his life back on the right side of the tracks so he could get his little sister back. Betty Cooper was just trying to finish up her Journalism degree and convince a certain redhead to love her so she could start the life she was raised to want. Each other wasn't part of the plan.OR, Veronica Lodge inadvertently plays the Cupid no one asked for when she allows an old friend crash with her and her best friend until he can get back on his feet.





	Turning Page

**Author's Note:**

> AU explanation: Veronica was raised by single mom Hermione on the south side and was best friends with Jughead. She met Betty and Archie her sophomore year of high school when her previously absentee father came back into her and her mother's lives and moved them to the north side of town so Veronica could go to a better school, around which time she and Jughead lost touch. Veronica and Archie never dated, no one at Riverdale High ever met Jughead. 
> 
> Okay, now that all of that is out of the way, thanks so much for reading my fic! Also, I edit my own work so I'm sorry for any errors.
> 
> Enjoy!

When Betty passes the threshold of the New York apartment she shares with her best friend, she is immediately greeted with the smell of steak filets. The smell is much different from the various chicken and pasta dishes she usually has for dinner; Betty’s mouth is watering before she’s even hung her coat up on its hook.

“Vee?” she calls, keys clinking as she drops them into their key bowl.

“In here!” Veronica calls from the kitchen.

Their kitchen is small, but not in a way that’s confining, and like every other room in the apartment, it’s decked out with the most modern amenities Lodge money can buy.

“Dinner’s almost ready!” Veronica says from behind the island where she’s tossing a mixed greens salad, “I made us filet mignon and…” she smiles, almost mischievously as she slides a brown paper bag across the tile countertop toward Betty.

Betty opens the bag, pulling out a bottle of fancy rosé wine.

“Charles Audoin?” Betty cocks an eyebrow and Veronica beams.

“It felt like a treat yourself-and your BFF-kinda night.”

“Okay…” Betty finally says after they sifted through their usual nightly small talk about how their classes are going, the articles Betty is writing for her internship and the tinder coffee date Veronica went on that afternoon, “You cooked dinner. And you bought my favorite expensive wine. What do you want, Vee?” she asks, sipping her glass of rosé incredulously.

“What? Can I not treat my bestie and roommate to a delicious dinner and fancy alcoholic beverages?” the olive-toned girl shrugs, earning an eyebrow-raise from her pony-tail bearing friend. “Fine,” Veronica mutters, setting her own glass down on the the polished wood of their dining room table. “So as you know, my mother and I lived on the Southside before my dad came back into our lives.”

Betty nods, forking another mouthful of asparagus.

“Well, I have an old friend from those days who’s come on some hard times, and he really needs a place to stay for a while,” Veronica says, “and I kind of already told him he could crash here; just until he gets back on his feet.”

“Of course,” Betty says, mind already racing with preparations she’ll need to make in the apartment.

“Oh, good,” Veronica sighs in relief, “I mean he just got out of prison, but--” Betty is adding ‘vacuum the guest room’ to her mental checklist when the raven haired girl’s words stop her thoughts in her tracks.

“Wait, what?” she squints at her best friend, as if what she’d said won’t compute. “ _Prison?_ ”

“Betty, just listen…” the shorter girl starts but Betty cuts her off.

“Vee, you know I love you, and any friend of yours is a friend of mine, truly,” she places a hand over her heart for emphasis, “but is it really a good idea to have a felon for a roommate?”

“He’s not a felon,” Veronica explains. “He’s a really good person. He just...made some bad choices and arguably was punished more harshly than he deserved. Classic juvenile delinquency. His record has since been all but expunged.”

“Veronica…” Betty shakes her head.

“Hey, where’s you social justice spirit, Cooper?” Veronica asks. “Where’s my bestie who’s always rooting for the underdog?”

Betty tries to hold her ground, but Veronica whips out her puppy dog eyes, which make her laugh, and her resolve crumbles. “Okay. Fine.”

“Thank-you so much, Betty,” Veronica grins, refilling both of their wine glasses. “You won’t regret this. He’s really great. And smart, too. He like wrote a whole book when we were in high school.”

The blonde takes the last bite of her steak and sets her fork down. “What’s his name?”

“Jughead Jones,” Veronica states, standing and taking both of their plates. She places them in the sink.

“Jughead?” Betty raises her eyebrows in disbelief.

“It’s a nickname,” Veronica says simply. “Believe me, his actual first name’s way worse.”

“Can it get any worse than _Jughead_?” Betty laughs and her raven-haired friend joins her, “When does he move in?”

“I’m picking him up from the prison in Centreville on Monday,” Veronica says.

“That’s quick,” Betty notes.

“Yeah, he only called me yesterday to ask,” Veronica explains. “They let him out early on parole.”

Betty nods slowly in understanding. She’s still apprehensive about the whole thing, but she trusts Veronica’s judgement; Betty was the more willing to trust of the two, so if this Jughead passed her test, he must be a pretty alright guy.

“I assume he’ll be sharing my bathroom?” Betty asks with a laugh.

“ _Naturellement_ ,” Veronica teases. “I mean, I doubt he’d want to walk through my bedroom to get to the master bathroom.”

“Fair enough,” Betty concedes.

They both get up and clear the table. It’s Betty’s turn to wash and Veronica’s to dry.  “So…” Veronica begins once she’s put the last dish into the cupboard, pouring herself yet a third glass of wine, “I assume by some of the murmurings in the dark that your late night rendezvous’s with Archiekins are on again?”

Betty looks down. “More or less.”

“Betty--” Veronica protests but Betty cuts her off.

“It’s different this time, Vee,” Betty says, “he’s….softer, somehow. Less distant than he used to be.”

“Is he still as selfish in bed?” Veronica quips.

“He isn’t _selfish_ it’s just--”

“He can’t last more than five minutes,” Betty feels heat rush to her cheeks. “He’s not fifteen anymore, I don’t understand what his problem is.” Veronica’s tone changes suddenly, and she touches Betty’s hand across the table. “You’re not fifteen anymore, either Bee.”

“I know that,” Betty defends quietly.

“I know you and him have this weird history that started before I ever even got to Riverdale,” Veronica shakes her head, “but don’t you think it’s time?”

“I love you, Vee, and I appreciate you looking out for me, but this,” Betty shakes her head, “This isn’t your business.”

Veronica surrenders, leaning back in her seat and offering her friend a soft smile. “Okay.”

She offers Betty more wine, which she refuses. She then pops in a wine cork with a heart-shaped top and places the bottle in the refrigerator so it can be cold next time.

“I’m headed to bed,” she says.

“Okay,” Betty says, settling in on the couch with her school work.

“Good night.”

“‘Night.”

Betty is still up at midnight, studying for her Ethics in Journalism test the next week watching Conan and Jimmy Fallon, when her phone lights up with a text from none other than the ginger protagonist of her earlier conversation with Veronica.

_You up?_

_Yeah._

_Ronnie asleep?_

Betty mutes the TV, pads over to the master bedroom door. She can hear Veronica’s soft snores through the thin wood.

_Yep :)_

_I’m outside._

Betty goes to the door and greets Archie with a wide grin, stretching on her tiptoes to kiss him, and his hands come down to hold her waist. Their mouths remain glued together as they stumble down the short hallway to Betty’s pastel colored bedroom.

 

tbc


End file.
